Tuesday, September 30, 2014

A good while back I met up with the girls from the clothing label, Bruno Pica. Both creatives behind the label, Kathrin and Sabrina work together to produce quality, handmade knitted items. Below they share their processes and inspiration."...we realized how energetic and inspiring a collaboration can be. So we would say find yourself a companion and experiment, learn by doing and be curious!"

You can find their clothes on their etsy store or if you are in Berlin you can find them at their store Pica Picain Prenzlauer Berg.

How did you start creating?We grew up together in the same city and finished at the same art school. Kathrin opened her own shop PicaPica in Berlin, making her own designs. Sabrina worked on her carear as an installation artist, always making little things aside from that (with the knitting machine / label called: Bruno).We always had the idea to work together one day and since Sabrina moved fully to Berlin we took the opportunity to dive into that.Inspired by?In the first place its the material which inspires us. Which means in this case the fiber and its colors. We focus mainly on jackets, scarfs and skirts. The knitting machine is a manual one and plays its tricks on us from time to time. There is a lot of counting involved which we sometimes take as a conceptual starting point, see our 'exponential pollöverken'. That we started to work together is an experiment for us and thats exactly how we work on each unique piece.

Do you make/create anything else?Kathrin:I get my inspiration from nature and therefore I create unique pieces from high quality bio and fair trade fabrics. Every piece is handmade and dyed with natural materials such as roots, flowers and seeds. I develop my own patterns which are straight, minimalistic and elegant and can often be worn in multiple ways.Sabrina:My work is about the explorations of underlying patterns and connections between scientific paradigms and seemingly random aspects of humanity and its relationships. Sometimes the work takes the form of physical investigation into materiality (room filling installations), at other times the questioning is more intellectual or philosophical. I create a stage in which the boundaries between viewer, author and the installation itself starts to blur.

Any encouraging words?Even though we both have our own project next to Bruno Pica, we realized how energetic and inspiring a collaboration can be. So we would say find yourself a companion and experiment, learn by doing and be curious!

The cartoons below display the hazardous toxins which can be found within clothes.

The detox campaign has been a 2 year long campaign

"The Detox campaign has united millions of people across the globe
around a shared belief that the clothes we wear should not contain
hazardous chemicals or cause toxic pollution.
Together, we have been able to convince big brands including Zara,
H&M and Valentino to commit to clean up their products and work with
their suppliers to ensure that no more hazardous chemicals are used to
make the clothes we wear.

"Nineteen global fashion leaders have committed to Detox in response to the growing international campaign (Nike, Adidas, Puma, H&N, M&S, C&A, Li-Ning, Zara, Mnago, Esprit, Levi's, Uniglo, Benetton, Victoria's Secret, G-Star Raw, Valentino, Coop, Canepa, Burberry). However,
other clothing companies, like GAP, Primark and Disney still need to
respond to the urgency of the situation, Detox their brands and help
Detox our future." GreenpeaceMore information about the toxins in the clothes you can find here

Thursday, July 25, 2013

In early July the Ethical Fashion Show came to Berlin! Embarrassingly enough, I have on occasions forgotten about fashion week in Berlin, and only realised when I thought 'There seems to be more trendy people on the streets. Oh it must be fashion week!'. Luckily enough Berlin Fashion week now features eco labels in the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin, so I did manage to make it to some public events.

Here are a selection of notable ethical designers who showcased their products at Ethical Fashion Show Berlin ewerk 2-4th July.

After meeting the wonderful Christine from Very nice threads, she referred me onto this brand, Mud Jeans. They have developed a great concept where you rent their jeans and then after a period send the jeans back to them. They then recycle the thread to make a new pair of jeans. Genius!

Upcycled clothing from Aluc - BerlinThese guys are wonderfully passionate sustainable fashion designers! They design upcycled shirts (for guys and gals) and have some new items in their store. You can find their shop in Mitte Berlin or online here.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

I feel very excited about this post! It is our first 'feature' on i give 2 hoots! and it showcases some Berlin local talent. Mia is a fantastic fashion blogger from heylilahey who has successfully self imposed a 6 month shopping ban on herself. She is nearing to the end of the ban and she is still going strong with less then a month to go! We caught up with her here in Berlin a few months back to get some tips and advice with regards to her shopping restrictions.

For
a while already I was trying to buy less and shop more consciously and
save some money to buy high quality pieces instead of many pieces by
H&M & Zara. But it never worked and I wasn't happy at all with
my shopping behavior.
I thought this ban could be good for my soul, my style, my
creativity and of course for my wallet. And I have to be honest, the
whole sustainability and environment friendly thought about this whole
project came later, but now I am proud that I am not buying
non-recycable plastic handbags and shoes every week. How is the ban going so far? I am now
over 3 months already and the 4th month will be over soon, too, as I am
super busy lately. It is going pretty well actually. I have not been
shopping at all. The only items that I had to buy were new sport shoes
(my old ones were just too worn out) and business pants and a business
handbag for a job interview, that I won't wear in my private life until
July though.

Is it more or less difficult then you had initially intended?

It
has been pretty succesful so far and not too hard as I just had more
time, money and thought for more important things in life, like thinking
about my career, meeting with friends, eating out, working out
regularly, travel, etc. However I think it will get really really hard
now in May and June when it gets warmer, as I LOVE shopping for summer
clothes.

What have your learnt about yourself & the fashion industry through the experience?

It
sounds cheezy but I learned that there are better things that can make
you happy than new clothes. Before I was an emotional shopper, as I
often purchased new items to feel better after a stressful day. Now I
just do sport, meet with friends or cook myself a really yummy dinner.
I am also being more creative at putting together my outfits lately and stepping out of my comfort zone.But
I also realize even more now how people in fashion want to see and have
new items, new things, new clothes, new shoes every day, and please for
a cheap price and a great design! It is also crazy to hear when people
say that they could not do something like that even for a month.

Any encouraging words for those who also want to slow down on their purchasing?

Doing
this will only do you good. Just stay away from it for a while like me,
give yourself a month or so of no shopping at all, like going cold
turkey. I tried to do the 1 item per week rule, but it just didn't work
for me and other friends had problems with that, too. In that time of no
shopping really assess your wardrobe and wear everything that you
haven't worn yet or only once, even if you have to create completely new
outfits out of your comfort zone. Stepping out of your comfort zone is
always a great experience.
Also during this ban you will realize what you really need and
afterwards you will have saved up some money and buy your most craved
for item, let's say a pink handbag, in higher quality. These are just my
tips. I would be happy if you tried it and shared your experience with
me.

Friday, May 31, 2013

These wise words from Viviene Westwood define the mentality of the Minimalist! I found this quote on pinterest (Pinned by Sass Brown, author of the book Eco Fashion) and just had to share it on the blog.

EXCESSIVE BUYINGOne of the first
things that I noticed when I came to Europe was that there are plenty of
affordable clothing options. Shops like H&M and Zara make it easy
for girls and guys to be fashionable on a budget. Another thing that I
noticed were the mountains of clothing that girls were taking to the
register. Perhaps affordability has motivated 'excessive buying'. The culture of online shopping and fashion blogging have unequivocally contributed to this fast fashion theme. I just hope that people do start to curve their spending and take on Viviene's wise words.

"I give 2 hoots!" is a space which acknowledges and celebrates the many different ways in which we can work towards being ecologically responsible in fashion. Are you a 'CREATOR', a 'MINIMALIST', an 'ENTHUSIAST' or a 'NOSTALGIC' or are you a mixture? This blog will feature the people who are consciously (or unconsciously) choosing to make a difference in their own unique way! I am Mahaila from FICKLE SENSE and 'I give 2 hoots'. I am a creator, an enthusiast & a Nostalgic!